While campaigning last year, then candidate Trump, often
referred to the growing opioid epidemic and the need to combat violent
criminals and organizations. On February 9, 2017, within weeks of being sworn
in to office, he signed an Executive Order establishing a task force on Crime
Reduction and Public Safety. In furtherance of the presidential order, Attorney
General Sessions established the national Public Safety Partnership (PSP) in
June 2017. PSP provides an innovative framework for DOJ to enhance its support
of state, tribal, and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors in the
investigation, prosecution, and deterrence of violent crime, especially that
related to gun violence, gangs, and drug trafficking. The timing of the
initiative couldn’t be better. [more...]

Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,
concisely highlighted the usefulness of the president’s Twitter account by
explaining the diplomatic value of the “nuclear button” tweet. During an
appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” when asked whether the president’s tweet was a
good idea, Haley responded, “I think that [Trump] always has to keep Kim on his
toes. It’s very important that we don’t ever let him get so arrogant that he
doesn’t realize the reality of what would happen if he started a nuclear war.” Haley
said North Korea should clearly understand that the United States means
business when it comes to Kim. [more...]

Days ago, as the northeast was battered by some of the
coldest weather in a century, global warming huckster Al Gore claimed that the
chill was a sign that Earth is getting warmer, not colder. Gore is being
deceptive. Global warmists say that snow happens when warmth evaporates water
into the air, where it freezes into snow. The weather bomb remembered as the
March Blizzard of 1888 buried New York City in snowdrifts 30 feet deep. But
January 2018’s record cold caused relatively little snow. It was mostly just
Arctic cold that could cause frostbite in minutes, or even death.[more...] [Read Part I here...]
[Read Part II here...]

Given
the long-range trends and short-range trends in play that favor conservative
candidates, it is unlikely that Oprah Winfrey might get elected president.
Because of her popularity, her voter intensity would probably be much higher
that Hillary Clinton; but her political stands would make it difficult for her
to win. Given the divided and fragmented Democratic Party, it is possible that
she could win the nomination. She might also secure a nomination from a
third party as well. But, it’s highly improbable that she will be elected
president in 2020. [more...]

Later
this month, President Trump faces one of the biggest trade decisions of his
presidency. By Jan. 26th, the president must decide whether to levy duties on
solar cell and module imports, and what level those duties should be. The
International Trade Commission (ITC) found in September that the industry has
suffered injury from imports from China and elsewhere, and unanimously
recommended that duties should be levied. The two complainants, struggling
solar manufacturing companies Suniva and SolarWorld, have each said the
recommended duties are not high enough to save the manufacturing industry,
while the SEIA (the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry)
has loudly protested that duties could have a negative impact on industry
growth. [more...]

Withdrawal
from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is likely to boost stock
prices, employment and economic growth. Republican Senators told the White
House earlier this week that NAFTA withdrawal will harm the stock market. But
that claim is based on outdated, incorrect views on trade and investment. America’s
economy and wages grew faster before the modern trade agreement era. But our
manufacturing members saw substantial growth last year in part because of trade
agreement uncertainty and a new focus from business on finding sources of
supply within the U.S. The new approach is raising production and employment at
U.S. manufacturers. Their biggest problem now has become finding skilled workers
to meet new demand. [more...]